Disclosed are manure amendment compositions containing a dry or liquid mixture of (1) alum mud and at least one member selected from the group consisting of acid (e.g., sulfuric), bauxite, and mixtures thereof, or (2) bauxite and at least one member selected from the group consisting of acid (e.g., sulfuric), alum mud, and mixtures thereof, which when added to animal manure will form a treated manure product having improved environmental, health and/or animal performance. Methods of treating animal manure, said methods involving contacting said animal manure with an effective treatment amount of the above manure amendment composition or alum mud to form a treated waste product having an improved environmental, health and/or animal performance property. Methods for inhibiting ammonia volatilization from animal manure, said methods involving applying the above manure amendment composition or alum mud to animal manure in an amount sufficient to reduce the pH of said animal manure and thereby reduce ammonia volatilization from said poultry litter or animal manure for at least 24 hours compared to untreated animal manure. Methods for controlling atmospheric ammonia levels in an animal rearing facility, said methods involving applying the above manure amendment composition or alum mud to a portion of a manure receiving surface (e.g., floor such as a dirt floor) in said animal rearing facility in an amount sufficient to reduce the pH of said portion and thereby inhibit ammonia volatilization from said manure receiving surface for at least 24 hours to control atmospheric ammonia levels in said animal rearing facility at or below a selected level, said manure receiving surface comprising previously deposited manure. Methods for reducing the amount of phosphorus runoff and/or phosphorus leaching from fields fertilized with animal manure, said methods involving treating animal manure to be used as agriculture fertilizer by admixing said animal manure with the above manure amendment composition or alum mud at a rate sufficient to reduce the water extractable phosphorus in said animal manure and thereafter applying said poultry litter or animal manure to fields (e.g., soil) as an agricultural fertilizer. Methods for reducing the amount of metals runoff and/or leaching from fields fertilized with animal manure, said methods involving treating animal manure to be used as agriculture fertilizer by admixing said animal manure with the above manure amendment composition or alum mud at a rate sufficient to reduce the water extractable metal content in said animal manure; and thereafter applying said animal manure to fields (e.g., soil) as an agricultural fertilizer.
Two of the biggest problems associated with animal manure are phosphorus (P) runoff and ammonia (NH3) emissions. Phosphorus runoff and leaching can result in accelerated eutrophication of lakes and rivers since P is normally the limited nutrient for algal production in freshwater systems (Schlinder, D. W., Science, 195: 260-262 (1977)). Phosphorus concentrations in runoff from fields fertilized with poultry litter can be very high, even when litter is applied at low to moderate levels (Edwards, D. R., and T. C. Daniel, Trans. Am. Soc. Agric. Eng., 35:1827-1832 (1992); Edwards, D. R., and T. C. Daniel, Bioresour. Technol., 41:9-33. (1992)). Edwards and Daniel (Edwards, D. R., and T. C. Daniel, J. Environ. Qual., 22:361-365 (1993)) reported that 80-90% of the P in runoff from pastures fertilized with poultry litter is soluble reactive P (SRP), which is the form that is most readily available for algal uptake (Sonzogni, W. C., et al., J. Environ. Qual., 11:555-563 (1982)). Several researchers have shown that P runoff and leaching from manure is more closely correlated to the amount of soluble P in the manure than total P (Shreve, B. R., et al., J. Environ. Qual., 24:106-111 (1995); Smith, D. R., et al., J. Environ. Qual., 30:992-998 (2001a); DeLaune, P. B., et al., J. Environ. Qual., 33:728-734 (2004a); DeLaune, P. B., et al., J. Environ. Qual., 33:2192-2200 (2004b)). Runoff water from fields fertilized with poultry litter has also been shown to have high concentrations of metals, such as arsenic, copper and zinc, which may cause water quality problems (Moore, P. A., Jr., T. C. Daniel, J. T. Gilmour, B. R. Shreve, D. R. Edwards, and B. H. Wood, J. Environ. Qual., 27:92-99 (1998).
Ammonia concentrations often exceed 25 ppm in poultry houses, which can reduce poultry performance (Reece, F. N., et al., Poult. Sci., 59:486-488 (1980); Carlile, F. S., World's Poult. Sci. J., 40(2):99-113 (1984); Miles, D. M., et al., Poult. Sci., 83:1650-1654 (2004); Moore, P. A., Jr., et al., J. Environ. Qual., 40:1395-1404 (2011)). High levels of NH3 damage the respiratory tract of chickens, which negatively affected their immune system, making them more susceptible to diseases (Anderson, D. P., et al., Avian Dis., 8:369-379 (1964)). This may be more important than in the past due to the current threat posed by avian influenza. The incidence of airsaculitis has been shown to increase dramatically when broilers are exposed to high NH3 concentrations. Negative impacts on feed conversion and weight gains, along with ocular damage, have been shown to occur when NH3 concentrations in poultry barns are high. These negative impacts of NH3 have generally been reported when in-house concentrations exceed 25 ppm (uL L−1), hence it is recommended that NH3 concentrations be kept below this critical level in poultry barns (Carlile 1984). However, it was found that the average NH3 concentration in four poultry houses in NW Arkansas that were continually monitored for one year was 25.1 uL L−1 with much higher levels during winter months, and that over half of the N excreted from the birds at this farm was lost to the atmosphere as NH3 before the litter was removed from the barns (Moore et al. 2011). This not only represent a huge waste of a natural resource (300 million Kg N/year in the U.S. alone), but it results in air and water pollution. Approximately 80% of atmospheric NH3 loading in the United States comes from agriculture sources, with poultry responsible for 25% of the total (Batty, R., et al., Developments and selection of ammonia emissions factors: Final report, EC/R Inc., Durham, N.C., EPA Contract Report#68-D3-0034, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, pp 111(1994)).
In the 1990s Moore discovered that a simple topical application of alum to poultry litter would reduce P runoff and NH3 volatilization (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,622,697; 5,914,104; 5,928,403; 5,961,968; 5,865,143; 5,890,454). It was also discovered that AlCl3 could be used for reducing NH3 emissions and P runoff from swine manure (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,346,240 and 7,011,824). The chloride salt of Al is preferable for liquid manures because sulfate can be reduced to hydrogen sulfide under anaerobic conditions which may aggravate odor issues.
During the past 20 years several studies have shown how alum additions reduce NH3 emissions and P runoff from manure (Moore, P. A., Jr., et al., J. Environ. Qual., 24:294-300 (1995); Moore, P. A., Jr., et al., Poult. Sci., 75:315-320 (1996); Moore, P. A., Jr., et al., Poult. Sci., 78:692-698 (1999); Moore, P. A., Jr., et al., J. Environ. Qual., 29:37-49 (2000); Moore, P. A., Jr., and D. R. Edwards, J. Environ. Qual., 36:163-174 (2007); Smith, D. R., et al., J. Environ. Qual., 30:992-998 (2001a); Smith, D. R., et al., J. Anim. Sci., 82:605-611 (2001b)). Additions of alum to poultry litter have also been shown to reduce arsenic, copper and zinc runoff from fields fertilized with litter (Moore, P. A., Jr., et al., J. Environ. Qual., 27: 92-99 (1998)). Moore and Miller (Moore, P. A., Jr., and D. M. Miller, J. Environ. Qual., 23:325-330 (1994)) published the first report that showed chemical amendments, such as alum, could be added to poultry litter to reduce P solubility. Later work by Moore et al. (1995, 1996, 1999, 2000) showed alum additions to poultry litter resulted in improved poultry production and higher crop yields, in addition to environmental benefits such as reduced NH3 emissions and reducing concentrations of P, metals and estrogen in runoff water and reducing P leaching. Alum was also shown to greatly reduce energy costs (e.g., propane) due to reduced ventilation requirements in cooler months as a result of lower in-house NH3 (Moore et al., 1999, 2000). Treating poultry litter with alum significantly reduces pathogens (e.g., Salmonella and Campylobacter) both in the litter and on poultry carcasses (Line, J. E., Poult. Sci., 81:1473-1477 (2002)). A cost/benefit analysis showed that the production benefits due to alum made this BMP (best management practice) very cost effective (Moore et al., 2000).
Due to the production and environmental benefits of this BMP, over one billion broiler chickens are currently grown each year in the U.S. with alum (Moore, 2011). However, this only represents about 10% of the industry. The main reason cited by poultry growers and industry personnel for not using alum is cost, which has increased dramatically during the past 20 years.
Thus, a need exists to develop a manure amendment that is as effective as alum, for example in reducing NH3 volatilization and P runoff, yet costs much less.